My friend Kirsten and a I crossed over the Friendship bridge between Thailand and Laos after a near sleepless overnight
train journey from Bangkok. It very warm in Bangkok when we boarded the 2nd class sleeper with fan. I did not
think I would need anything more than shorts and a t-shirt. Well sometime during the night, the temperature dropped
and the warm breeze coming through the window turned into an icy blast. Try as I might, I could not get the window closed.
So I shivered most of the night in that half awake/half asleep state of torture. From then on, I always have long pants
and a pull-over available for overnight journeys. This is especially important for A/C bus rides, since it will inevitably
be set so cold that water condenses on the outside of the windows.

A bit groggy but alive, I followed Kirsten into Laos. She is a wiz at customs documents. The first order of
business was to exchange money to pay for our ride into town. With an exchange rate of 10000:1 kip to dollar, I instantly
became a kip millionaire. It seems kind of cool to get a large paperback novel sized stack of 5000 kip notes, but the
novelty wears off quickly when trying to find a place to put it. It is way beyond the original design criteria for the
money belt, so that is out of the question. I ended up taking a small wad for immediate access and putting it in my
pocket. The rest I stuffed into my backpack and hoped for the best.

Vientiane:

The capitol city of Laos felt more like a small town than the largest city in the country. It just had a small town
feel.

One of the biggest things I noticed was all the new cars, motorcycles, and buildings. A large amount of money must
be flowing into the country. The new headquarters for the Ministry of Water was a massive gaudy temple like thing that
boasted of self importance. Signs of the influx were everywhere. The school yard was filled with hundreds of shiny
new motorcycles. Where is the money coming from with GDP for (2001) at $1600 which is roughly the cost of one of the
motorcycles?

Typical street

Tricycle

Boats on the Mekong River

Sunset over the Mekong, Thailand in the distance

Vang Vieng:

A very small town about mid way between Luang Probang and Vientiane. It is a common stop off for backpackers wanting
to chill out in the peaceful river valley. Other than rice fields, the only thing in the area is the massive cement
plant featured on the back of (I believe) the 1000 kip note.

Note the white/grey skies in the pictures are not clouds, but pollution caused by the burning of forests to clear fields
for farming. This is a problem through out Laos. The haze was very bad the entire time I was there. I hear
the worst month is in April when it is thick enough to make your eyes tear.

Near sunset

River reflection

Foot bridges crossing the river

Dry rice fields

Daily markets like the pictured below are a common scene all through out Laos. I was shocked at some of the things for
sale. While on the bus earlier in the day, a vendor was selling meat on a stick. It had a strangely familiar shape
I could not identify. It became clear when I was walking through the market. It was squirrel. Also at the
market, I saw owl, muskrats, and bats.